Recent Articles
Is America Inching Closer to the Axis of Evil?
This week, on the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the U.S. voted against a European resolution at the United Nations condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Later in the week, the U.S. presented a resolution calling for an end to the war without condemning Russia’s actions. Both resolutions passed, but a clear change in US policy towards the war has changed drastically. Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, Hungary and 11 other states joined the US in voting against the European resolution.
Evangelical Coalition Calls on Trump to Support West Bank Annexation
American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) held a press conference on Tuesday night at the annual National Christian Broadcasters Convention to announce their “Resolution on Judea and Samaria.” The resolution reflects the Zionist belief that the modern Israeli state is inextricably tied to the ancient, Biblical nation of Israel and, therefore, that God’s promise of the land to the Israeli people in ancient scriptures is still in effect.
Baptists and the Ordinance of Dissent
Like communion and baptism, acts of dissent can be seen as a third ordinance for the people known as Baptists.
New PRRI National Survey Captures National Support for Christian Nationalism
The Public Religion Research Institute releases the results of a national survey measuring American support of white Christian nationalism.
Whatever Is Lovely: Finding Joy in the Mundane Relationships of ‘Linda Linda Linda’
Everyone has methods for dealing with stress and anxiety in their lives. For me, one of the best ways to cope is to watch something I love. Right now, that is the 2005 Japanese film “Linda Linda Linda,” directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. I watched it about a week ago, and every time I think back on it, it makes me smile.
LGB Folks, Don’t be a Peter: Resist Divesting Trans Community
The removal of trans people from the Stonewall National Monument is a symptom of a much larger, more ancient problem. When oppressors attack the most marginalized in our community, you have a choice: you can risk yourself to protect the current target, or you can assimilate to the expression of life the oppressor deems worthy.
Americans View Canada, Japan and Great Britain Most Favorably
A recent Gallup survey taken between February 3-16 found Canada, Japan and Great Britain to be the countries with the highest favorability ratings among Americans. Canada received the highest ratings, with 89% of respondents identifying the northern neighbors as favorable. Japan and Great Britain came in at 86% and 84%, respectively.
Following the ‘Incredibly Human’ Jesus
Those of us trying to live a life faithfully modeled after Jesus, that wandering Jew from Palestine, often forget or willingly ignore his humanity and his humaneness. We aren’t alone in this struggle. The church has wrestled with understanding Jesus as both fully human and fully God since its earliest days.
The Limited, Beautiful and Necessary Tradition of Black History Month
I would love for the histories of Black individuals and communities to be infused all year long in all the settings where stories are being told and humans are being shaped. I would love to feel that people like me are as considered and as centered in education, media and religion as anyone with lighter skin and straighter hair. But I also know that two things can be true, especially when it comes to calendaring.
Pew Study Finds Americans Concerned About Money In Politics
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, more Americans see money’s role in politics as a “big problem” (72%) than any other option they were given. Lagging behind it are issues such as the affordability of healthcare (67%), inflation (63%) and the federal deficit (57%).
Five Years After Ahmaud Arbery’s Murder: What Has Changed, What Hasn’t, and Who’s Still Fighting?
It’s been five years since Ahmaud Arbery was lynched in broad daylight. We saw the video. On February 23, 2020, Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was out for a run in the community of Satilla Shores, near Brunswick, Georgia. Three local white men indicted, convicted,...
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Combats Erasure with Global Solidarity, Mounting a Movement of Ubuntu
The 21st Annual Clergy and Lay Leaders Conference hosted by the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (SDPC) was held at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas on February 17-20. Combating erasure with global solidarity, SDPC is mounting a movement of ubuntu.
I Got Plastered and My Dad Tossed an Egg at Me
Take a deep breath. Feel your lungs grow. That requires muscle. The struggle to get out of the egg builds the chick’s strength. Without the struggle, it will lack the strength to breathe and will suffocate. Struggle serves to give the emerging being the strength to thrive.
Invested Faith, 2025 Invested Faith Fellows
Washington, DC: In less than 4 years, Invested Faith has awarded 67 Fellowships to faith-rooted social entrepreneurs and now announces Invested FaithFaith community, and the opportunity to join the Invested Faith RESOURCED program, a peer support network of Fellows...
Mercy Culture Pastor Triggered By Mercy
The Marianne Budde story became a microcosm of the many debates around immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and, most importantly, the relationship between church and state. For ministers of all stripes, the prayer service itself echoed the awkward discomfort they often feel at ceremonies that are part sacred, part secular, and designed in collaboration with others who have vastly different aims for the event.
The Era of Wannabe Kings Begins
Democracies around the world are starting to worry about American aggression toward their countries. America is becoming a threat to democracy, no longer its most avid defender.
Notes on Neurodivergence | Changing My Values
When I was eighteen, I went to college. It was terrifying to be in a new place with new people, attempting to function without adult help. At my university, there was no effective counseling support for what I needed. It was assumed I could medicate the problem away. But the real issue was my emotional wounds. Drugs only treated the symptoms.
Theology of Beauty: An Interview With Malkhaz Songulashvili, Georgia’s “Dissident” Baptist Bishop
“There was no single day since the establishment of the Baptist Church in Georgia on August 20, 1867, when we have not been persecuted in one way or another. For over 150 years, we had to learn how to survive, and the theology of beauty has been our means of survival.”
Uniform’s “American Standard” Embraces Pain With a Psalmist’s Touch
In 2024, the industrial metal band Uniform released my favorite album of the year. “American Standard is one of the most punishing, brutal and sad records I have ever listened to, but it is also one of the most beautiful. I cannot stop wrestling with it.
Celebrating Black History is An Act of Resistance
For those whose slavery-obscured ancestral lineage already makes us feel like orphans, exhuming Black history reopens unhealed wounds. When coupled with reliably disingenuous critiques like, “Why don’t we have a white history month?”, February starts to feel like the longest month of the year.
The Immigrant Life: Sojourners On Our Way Home
As the soil beneath my feet shifts with political uncertainty, I feel a moral responsibility to stand in solidarity with those whose existence is threatened.
A Minister Goes to the Theater | Our Towns, Our Churches
During the third act, I tried to figure out why I was crying. Was it my own ignorance and blindness? Was it nostalgia for a simpler time? Was it a longing for community? Was it the loss of people I love? Was it my sense of mortality?
The Radical Mundane: Staying Sane Amid the Inhumane
In an age when the inhumane becomes normalized, we need these reminders of what humanity is supposed to look like. Without these small, mundane things, I fear we will miss seeing the Imago Dei in one another.
Barna Report Finds Most Teens Are Open to Conversations About God
Barna’s “The Open Generation: United States” report finds most teens are open to having conversations about God. Whether professed Christians or not, the young people polled expressed a desire to talk about the life of Jesus over Barna’s “The Open Generation: United States” report finds most teens are open to having conversations about God. Whether professed Christians or not, the young people polled expressed a desire to talk about the life of Jesus over the course of their lives.
the course of their lives.
What’s Going On At Wheaton?
The problem with evangelical higher education is not, as it so frequently tells itself, that it takes up a “courageous middle.” The problem is that predominantly white evangelical higher education exists to leverage a virulent form of cultural dominance into a (pseudo) academic business model.
African American History Month| Some Sufferings We Must Refuse to Bear
Racism is not “my cross to bear.” In fact, it’s not even a cross or a test of endurance. Systematic prejudice is social oppression and should not be met with strength and determination.
Five Years Later, Pew Research Analyzes Current U.S. Opinion on the COVID-19 Pandemic
Despite a few weeks of national unity at the beginning of the pandemic, almost three-quarters (72%) of Americans believe the pandemic did more to drive the country apart. Slightly more than a tenth (11%) said it brought the country together, with 16% saying it had little effect either way.
Managing Facebook Fights: A Strategy To Manage Political Anxiety
Jesus, the ultimate scapegoat, is innocent. Yet he is still crucified by a mob seeking to rid itself of fear and guilt. The resurrection reveals the truth: the scapegoat is not the source of our problems. The real issue lies within us—our rivalries, desires and unwillingness to take responsibility for the conditions we create.
God Ain’t Scared of Your Questions: Keeping Black Youth at the Forefront of Theology
The Black church has always been a sanctuary of survival and resistance, yet it is at risk of losing its most critical demographic—Black youth and young adults. Not because they lack faith but because they ask questions the church often refuses to answer. This is not...
Autumn Lockwood: Making History During Black History Month
The NFL’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program created opportunities for marginalized individuals. Historically, white men have led NFL teams, with an occasional African American rising to the level of a coaching or front-office position. Since the league takes DEI seriously, more opportunities have emerged for people of color and women.